


Leave Me Behind

by allixiler



Category: The Outer Worlds (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-09
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:55:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27464536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allixiler/pseuds/allixiler
Summary: The journey is over...and Max is leaving.
Relationships: Female Captain & Maximillian DeSoto, Female Captain/Maximillian DeSoto, The Captain & Maximillian DeSoto, The Captain/Maximillian DeSoto
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	Leave Me Behind

It had been a long road to get here. Honestly, there were times where she wasn’t so sure that they’d make it. She had taken The Unreliable all over Halcyon in attempt to save it from its impending doom. She had taken a lot of risks in an attempt to save the lives of her fellow Hope colonists as well as clear the name of Dr. Phineas Welles.

It had been a long journey. She was thankful it was over and had been successful in her attempt. She had made an amazing crew along the way. She loved them dearly and was so thankful for them and everything that had sacrificed for her. She knew when the mission was over, they likely wouldn’t stick around with her. As much as it hurt to see her beloved crew go, she knew they had to get on with their lives. They didn’t need to stick around for her. Parvati was set to join Junlei on Groundbreaker. Nyoka would likely go back to Monarch. Law only knew where Ellie and Felix would end up. But what hurt the most was her thinking of Max leaving. 

She and Max had fallen hard for one another. There was no other way to say it. She never expected to fall in love with a preacher with a troubled past. To be fair, he never thought he’d fall in love with a previous science experiment space adventurer. The night they first spent together was a mixture of bliss and heated love. They had an eye for each other since the very first moment that their paths crossed back in Edgewater. The built up tension finally spilled out and they couldn’t restrain any longer. 

It had started as an innocent conversation over a glass of purpleberry wine. She was just talking off the day’s stress and, well, sure enough he ended up in her bed by the end of the night. After that, it was hard to deny their feelings. But they didn’t want to hide it by that point anyway. She couldn’t describe the way he made her feel. He cherished her in ways no one ever had. He adored her. He respected her. He cared about her. She took advantage of all the time she spent with him from sunrise to sundown.

However, as the final days of the mission ensued, things were rocky. She knew the crew would start separating off once everything was said and done. She knew Max was thinking of leaving. He wasn’t the type of man to stay tied to a spaceship for the rest of his life, but the thought of him leaving made her heart sink every time. 

Ellie left first about two days after. This wasn’t a shock. As the nomadic pirate she was, the Captain knew it wouldn’t take long. Oddly enough, Ellie wanted to spend some time in Byzantium before possibly getting a ship of her own. She wanted to blow all her bits before getting back to work. She bidded the Captain goodbye and thanked you for the greatest adventure of her life. It was the only time the Captain had ever seen Ellie show a soft side.

Nyoka and Felix left the day after Ellie once the Captain landed on Monarch. Felix decided he wanted to make a life of himself there and be able to be up to date on all the tossball matches. He also wanted to see if he could score a date with the tossball bartender he had met. He cried when he said goodbye to the Captain and he thanked her for giving him a chance that no one else had before. Nyoka went back to the bar that the Captain found her in, but she went with a new sense of purpose. She was forever grateful that she gave her a new family.

Parvati left after that to Groundbreaker. That was the Captain’s easiest goodbye. Not because she didn’t like Parvati. Quite the opposite actually. She knew she’d be safe with Junlei. She’d have a life of engineering for the rest of her life. She’d always have a way to fuel her passion. Parvati wasn’t always one to get sentimental. She had hugged the Captain and repeatedly thanked her for getting her out of Edgewater. She thanked her for helping her find her soulmate. The Captain helped her find her happiness.

That left Max. The last member of her crew. He had not given any implications of his plans. She wanted him to stay. She needed him to stay. However, when she woke up to an empty bed one morning, her stomach sank. She had leaped out of bed and rushed down the stairs to the entranceway where she saw Max standing with his belongings. 

Oh. He was leaving.

“Max...” She breathed, beginning to feel betrayed. 

He turned to face her. Her brows furrowed in sadness and the tears welling in her eyes was enough to make him melt then and there. 

“I have to go, Captain.” He said quieter than she had ever heard him speak.

His eyes raked over her frame. He almost laughed at her messy hair and tired eyes. She was never much of a morning person. She never had been.

“Oh, what? So you were just going to leave without saying anything?” She asked; “You don’t have to leave. You can’t leave.” She said with a cracking voice.

He had a look in his eyes that told it all. He didn’t want to leave. He was doing this because of his commitment to OSI. He felt obliged to continue his duties as a vicar. He knew there were people out there that had burdens far heavier than his. She was docked in Terra 2, meaning he was going back to his old life. Back to Edgewater until he figured out where he wanted to go. However long that would take. This wasn’t right. He didn’t want this.

“It would hurt less if I just went. I have to. I have a duty to OSI.” He spoke.

“You always told me that the Plan brought you to me,” She said forcing the tears back; “I thought I meant something to you.”

His face was concerned now;

“The Plan...you know that I don’t...Captain, love,” He said discarding his original thought; “You do mean something to me. You mean everything to me.” He admitted, finally taking her hand into his.

“Then don’t leave,” She cried with tears spilling down her cheeks; “It’s written all over your face. I know you want to stay.” She sobbed while placing both of her hands on his cheeks.

His own eyes began to well with tears as he listened to her. If he spent every day of the rest of his life on this ship he wouldn’t care. As long as he had her at the end of every day.

“I don’t want to. But, [Y/N], it’s a wonder OSI hasn’t already sent people searching for me. If I stay, I might as well be an outlaw,” He explained; “I wasn’t ever supposed to leave Edgewater.”

She shook her head incredulously. She wasn’t letting him go this easily. She couldn’t live with herself if she let him slip through her fingertips.

“Might I remind you that we were just the colony’s most wanted criminals? What’s the harm in being a guy on the run?” She questioned.

“That was temporary and you know it,” He went on; “They’d throw me in prison for evading my duties and I’d never see the light of day again.” 

She was stunned. She was having a hard time processing this. She never thought he’d leave this way.

“If you want to help people around the colony, then why come back to Edgewater?” She asked.

He raised a brow;

“What do you mean? That’s where I’m assigned.” He said not following her logic.

“Why couldn’t you work for OSI anywhere in the colony? I guess like a traveling vicar?” She suggested, now basically choking on her sobs.

He wiped the tears from her face with his thumbs, looking into her;

“I suppose I could, but that’d take weeks. That requires a referral. I’d still have to stay in Edgewater until then.”

“Max, I don’t care if we had to live in the wilderness of Scylla. I could work SubLight jobs from wherever we are at the time. I just want to be with you. No matter what.” She confessed.

He was taken aback. Truth be told, he was sure she wouldn’t be willing to stay with him still being tied to OSI. She had never really been invested in his beliefs. A few weeks back in Edgewater was nothing if he got to spend forever with her. She was still crying, Max’s eyes more softened than she’d ever seen;

“Captain, my darling, I’ve never seen you this way.” He said, pulling her to his chest.

She took that to mean that he’d stay. Thank the Law. She would’ve absolutely lost it if she hadn’t convinced him.

“I just love you. I need you here. I can’t be alone again.” She shakily said.

He hummed, kissing her forehead;

“Then by Law, you won’t be.” He agreed.

She breathed out a sigh of relief. Resting her head on him.

“I love you. I’m sorry for scaring you,” He apologized; “I must say, my dear. OSI would be much more accepting of a referral if there was a Mrs. Desoto.” 

She pulled away quickly;

“Max, I...” 

“Think on it. Give it some thought.” He suggested.

Her shocked silence was enough to tell him that she was surely going to say yes to his proposal. He finished with a final thought;

“Take your time. You have until forever to give me an answer.”


End file.
